Continuous strip dispenser



March 4, 1952 R, G. TUcK ErAL CONTINUOUS STRIP DISPENSER` Filed NOV. 22, 1949 @Or/moho dispenser.

Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTINUOUS STRIP DISPENSER Raymond G. Tuck, Pontiac, and Carl E. Fisher,

- Royal Oak, Mich.

Application November 22, 1949, Serial No. 128,702

(Cl. S12- 39) l Claims. 1 l This invention relates to a continuous vstrip Itis an object of the invention to provide a package for the dispensing of individual tablets,

the strip. A container is then provided having av special opening through which the strip may pass and combined with which is a special serrated edge for tearing of the strip as the pills are dispensed.

It is an object of the invention to provide a. container which seals itself to prevent the free passage of air in and out of the container. This prevents disagreeable odors of the medicine from entering the room and also safeguards the medicine against deterioration from complete exposure to the atmosphere.

Other objects and features of the invention relating to details of construction will be apparent in the following description and claims.

Drawings accompany the specification, and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

Figure 1, a perspective view of the container showing the manner in which the contents are dispensed.

Figure 2, a view of the box showing the parts in exploded position.

Figure 3, a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the pills or capsules I0 are evenly spaced between two layers of transparent cellophane material or similar cellulose material and sealed in the small pockets formed in the strip I2. The container for dispensing is formed of a box I4 open at the top and having one end provided with a, cut-away notch IB adjacent the opening. A top 20 telescopes over the open end of the box with a relatively tight friction fit and has one end wall cut away at 22 in a position corresponding with the notched portion IB. The edge 24, forming the base of the cut-away portion 22, is provided with serrations so that it will serve as a tearing edge for the retaining tape. A hole 26 is formed in the top spaced from but adjacent the edge 24.

An intermediate member 30 is to be supported l by the. top edges of the box-like portion I4. This intermediate member has two side grooves 32 to be supported on the edges of the box I4. These grooves 32 are formed by inverted U-shaped members 34 bent upwardly, outwardly, and downwardly from a continuation of the plate member V36 forming the main body of the member 39. The

forward end 33 of the member 3U is formed downwardly and back in a rounded lip portion While the rear end 49 is also bent downwardly to present a rounded radius 42 at the back of the platform member 36. A U-shaped member 46 has: a rounded lip portion 43 which corresponds with and overlies the lip portion 38 on member 30. The two legs 50 of the U member lie along the members 34 and are bowed upwardly almost to the top of the suspending members 34. As shown in Figure 2, the legs 5E! hook over the lip 4U andthe member 46 may be snapped in place due to its resilience. The groove between the legs 50 is preferably wide enough to accommodate a medical unit being dispensed. l

The member 46 is preferably formed of sprin material such as steel or brass so that the bowed members 50 have considerable resilience. In as'- sembly, the box I4 is filled with multiple folds or a roll of the strip I2, after which the intermediate member 30 is secured to the top of the container I4 in the position shown in Figure 3. The top 26 is then placed over the unit after the strip has been threaded on top of the intermediate member 30.

In operation it will be seen that a dispensed pill as shown at the extreme right of Figure 3 may be obtained by tearing off the strip I2 against the serrated edge 24. When another pill is desired the thumb T may press down the pill shown at IIJA, and this pressure will flatten the bows 50 which previously have been holding the paper I2 against the top of the can. With this downward pressure and the application of an additional sliding force the end of the strip I2 will pass outwardly through the opening formed by the notches I6 and 22. This end may be grasped and pulled until another pill is fed into position under the opening 26. The appearance of the next pill at the opening will indicate that the pill being dispensed may be torn off with the bearing strip I2. The opening 2B thus serves as a point of starting the dispensing movement and also as an indexing register to indicate when the holding tape has been pulled far enough to be torn oil?. With this arrangement while a minimum spacing must be 3 maintained in the strip l2 a regular spacing would be unnecessary.

As previously stated the pills are preferably either approximately the width of the space between the U members 50 or slightly Wider so that pressure on the pill will press down the bow members 50. The width of the paper i2 is preferably just slightly smaller than the width of the box so that the lstrip will be approximately centered as it is dispensed.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a dispensing unit which is self-sealing and which carries its own detaching means so that pills may be readily dispensed therefrom one ata time without the necessity of opening the container for each f unit. In this way the old method of dispensing pills by opening the container and dumping out a unit is avoided and the accidental spillingand exposure of medical units not desired for a particu- Y lar dose is avoided. Furthermore, all units remain untouched by human hands until Vactually adjministeredvsince they may be packaged at the fac- .tory Jas .shown in the double strip I2 Aunder con'- trolled sanitary conditions.

1, `A Vmedical dispensing device in combination with a plurality of medical pills or capsules carried `by a continuous, vnarrow strip of pliable material comprising a, container having one open 'end forming a Istorage lchamber Vfor a plurality of layers of said pliable material, a dispensing aperture adjacent the -open end of said container, a cover member for the open end of the container, clamping means adjacent the open end of the container near said .aperture to hold said strip ers ,of said pliable material, a dispensing aperture adjacent vthe open end of the container, vclamping means o n the container near said aperture to hold said strip, said Yclamping means consisting of Va Vshelf suspended on the walls of the open end of the container, said shelf having Vonerounded end, arresilient means overlying said rounded end and having projecting legs extending in parallel relation along the shelf bowed upwardly, Aand'a cover overlying said shelf and enclosing the open end of the container, said cover being apertured to permit dispensing pressure to be applied to the bowed members which normally clamp the dispensing strip against the cover.

3. A medical dispensing device to be used in combination with a plurality of medical pills or capsules carried by a continuous narrow strip of pliable materialcomprising a container forming a storage chamber fora plurality of layers of said vpliable material,a dispensing aperture adjacent one corner of said container, clamping means adjacent one wall of the container near said aperture to hold-said strip resiliently against said wall, said clamping means consisting of a shelf supported adjacent the wall, and a bowed resilient means overlying said shelf projecting toward said wall, said wall having an aperture formed therein overlying said shelf to permit dispensing pressure to be applied to the bowed members which normally clamp the dispensing strip against the wall.

4. A device as definedzin claim 3 in which the ,resilient means c onsistsof a U-shaped ,spring `member "having the baseer the Y.U at one end of said shelf and the legs of the U :extending on either side of said shelf, said aperture in therwall of said container overlying the'space between -the legs of the U-shaped member and the pills or capsules carried by the continuous strip having suicient width that pressure on said pills through said aperture on the wall of the container will react against the legs of the U-shaped resilient member to relieve the pressure of the member on a strip against the wall, permitting the pill to be shifted by pressure being exerted vthrough the aperture to a'position through the dispensing aperture where Vthe strip ymay be grasped outside the container and pulledout to the extent desired.

5. A device as defined in claim 4 Yin vwhich'one longitudinal edge of the dispensing aperture is Vserrated 'to form a tearing edge for the strip.

RAYMOND G. TUCK. CARL E. FTSHE'R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of *record in the Y ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

